Scores of people were evacuated from their homes as a huge fire engulfed a garage run by Scotland’s biggest car dealership.
The blaze at Arnold Clark’s service centre in Aberdeen’s Girdleness Road raged for hours and destroyed most of the building.
People living nearby had to be moved out of their homes amid fears the heat and flames would spark a blast because of the explosive chemicals stored on the premises.
They were given refuge in a local community centre for several hours.
One person was taken to hospital, while five others were treated at the scene.
The fire also destroyed a number of cars which had been left at the building to be serviced and repaired.
The total bill to repair all the damage is expected to run into tens of thousands of pounds.
The blaze was discovered shortly after 5am yesterday.
Police, the fire and rescue service and ambulances all went to the scene.
Twelve fire brigade appliances – including a height vehicle, an incident support vehicle, a water carrier and command unit – from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire responded to the emergency.
An incident response base was set up in the car park of Topps Tiles, in Wellington Trade Park.
At the height of the blaze, 50 firefighters battled to bring it under control as it burned through the garage before reaching oil tankers and flammable gas cannisters.
Crews were forced to leave the building and fight the fire from outside.
Police closed Girdleness Road between Old Church Road and Wellington Road, forcing commuters to seek alternative routes.
The road did not reopen until around 11.30am.
Shocked residents were woken up by police officers knocking on their doors and telling them they had to leave their homes.
About 80 people from properties in Girdleness Road, Girdleness Terrace and Kirkhill Road were all led out of their homes and taken to the nearby Balnagask Community Centre.
Rosie Shirran was one of those evacuated from Kirkhill Road, which backs on to the site, along with her husband, son, and nephew.
She said: “All you could see was black smoke at first and then, when we came out of the house we saw the flames.
“It was quite scary – I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Angela Cheyne was evacuated from her home on Girdleness Terrace and spent the morning in the community centre.
She added: “There were people coughing because they had asthma and had inhaled all the smoke.”
Residents had to stay in the centre for several hours before they were allowed to return home.
But they were supported by the emergency services as well as Aberdeen City Council and the British Red Cross.
Fire crews were at the scene for much of the afternoon after getting the blaze under control around 9.20am.
David Rout, senior officer, was in charge of the operation and said one person was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary suffering from smoke inhalation, while five others were treated at the scene.
He said: “I would like to thank the public for their co-operation and response to public safety messages.
“We realise the inconvenience caused, but their safety is of paramount importance to us.
“This was a serious fire, we have managed to save the office accommodation, but otherwise the remainder of the building has been completely destroyed.”
Arnold Clark said it was still trying to assess the total cost of the damage.
The firm is the biggest independently-owned family-run car dealership in Scotland.
It has several branches in Aberdeen.
